In plain words
The Apgar score is a quick check of a newborn's health. A care team gives a score from 0 to 2 for five signs: heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and skin color. The total is out of 10. It is checked at 1 minute and again at 5 minutes after birth, and sometimes later. A low score means the team pays closer attention. It is not a prediction of how the baby will do over time. Many babies with low early scores are fine. Ask your team what the numbers were and what they mean for your baby.
The deeper version
The Apgar score (Virginia Apgar, 1953) assesses appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration, each scored 0 to 2 at 1 and 5 minutes after birth, with additional scoring at 10 minutes if the 5-minute score is below 7. Scores of 7 to 10 are reassuring, and scores of 0 to 3 are considered low. The score was never designed to diagnose asphyxia. The joint ACOG and AAP committee opinion (2015) states that Apgar scores alone should not be used to determine neonatal depression or neurologic outcome. Low 5-minute scores are associated with neonatal death and neurologic impairment in cohort studies, though most infants with low scores have no lasting impairment. The controversy concerns the score's use in medicolegal settings and whether umbilical cord gas values should supplement it.
Where it comes up
- Skin-to-skin and the golden hourGetting Ready for Birth
- What a doula does, and how to find oneGetting Ready for Birth
What mothers here say about Apgar score
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Sources
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Academy of Pediatrics — Committee Opinion 644: The Apgar Score (2015)
- Apgar V — A proposal for a new method of evaluation of the newborn infant (1953)